1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a virtual proximity service control system for realizing communication among persons at distant places in a virtual and proximate state by using a communication network system formed by connecting a plurality of user terminals.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, cost reduction of image compressing apparatuses and improvement in the networks result in a TV telephone service being realized. However, the service has not been used widely. The reason for this is that the image simply showing the face during the conversation is not considered so important. Moreover, the cost performance has not been evaluated yet.
On the other hand, development of a new service formed by combining computers and the communication technology, that is, development of a group wear has been performed energetically. The development of the group wear has been performed by, in addition to technical experts, psychologists and social psychologists. In the situation above, an informal communication service has attracting attention. Also informal communication accidentally taking place between members has an important factor for improving the intellectual productivity in an office as well as formal communication, such as conferences and meetings. Specifically, it has been proved that places in which informal communication takes place frequently, for example, the same floor and the same building in an office, are places in which new projects are frequently created.
Accordingly, development has been performed such that the conventional TV telephone is contrived to cause the communication between remote departments to approach a state as if communication between adjacent persons is performed, that is, a virtual proximity feeling is provided for the purpose of making the TV telephone to be more effective service.
As for the system in the earliest stage of the research and development of the virtual proximity system, refer to Intellectual Teamwork (pp. 489-510, Mark J. Abel, 18: Experiences in an Exploratory Distributed Organization). The foregoing thesis has disclosed a result of an experiment carried out such that one project team is divided into two remote sections which are always connected to each other through a TV conference system. According to the experiment above, 70% of communication occurring due to dropping-in was performed in place of the planned conferences. According to an experiment of Video Window (Fish, R. et al. The Video Window System in Informal Communications. Proc. CSCW"" 90) in which refresh rooms were always connected by a TV conference system, eye contact is an important factor to start the informal communication. The foregoing experiments suggest a possibility that image link is able to support the informal communication. However, communication among a plurality of departments cannot be performed and a problem of cost arises when employed practically. Accordingly, a system established on the basis of desktop terminals has been developed in place of the system formed on the basis of the foregoing TV conference room.
As the desktop system, the following structures are exemplified: CRUISER (Root, R. et al. Design of a Multi-Media Vehicle for Social Browsing, Proc. CSCW"" 88, Fish, R. et al. Evaluating Video as a Technology for Informal Communication. Proc. CHI""92), Montage (Tang, J. et al. Supporting Distributed Groups with a Montage of Lightweight Interactions. Proc. CSCW""94), RAVE (Gaver, W. et al. REALIZING A VIDEO ENVIRONMENT: EUROPARC""S RAVE SYSTEM. Proc. CHI"" 92), and Ubiquitous Video (Buxton, B. xe2x80x9cFuture Video Conference systemxe2x80x9d, Nikkey Electronics, 1995. 3.27). The foregoing services simulate a state where each member of an office is provided with a single room and the member walks on a passage virtually realized on a network. In place of the conventional TV telephone having the structure such that the number of the companion is designated, the ringing (ringer bell) sound is produced and voice and image links are connected when the companion responds, a user is able to see the room to which the companion belongs, followed by commencing conversation. The foregoing system enables communication actions between adjacent persons to be realized on a network such that a person walks the passage to see the state of the companion through the door and, if the companion is able to hold communication, the person calls the companion.
However, a report has been made that the experiment of CRUISER resulted in no considerable effect to be obtained as compared with the method of usage of the conventional telephone system. In order to prevent a problem of privacy taking place when the image link is connected to see the room of the companion, the terminal of the companion displays the image of the sender when the sender sees the office so as to be recognized by the companion. Therefore, the recipient side is caused to see the image of the companion in place of the ringing sound when the companion makes a call. Thus, an effect similar to ringing of the telephone acts on the receiver. As a result, any considerable effect cannot be obtained as compared with the usual telephone or the TV telephone system.
On the other hand, RAVE has a structure such that the bi-directional image link is not provided but only single direction image link is established. Moreover, door knocking sound is provided for the person who is looked by a visitor. Ubiquitous Video has a contrivance that image information of a person who sees the companion is displayed on a video monitor disposed on the rear side of the person who is looked. Although no report has been made from the foregoing structures, RAVE has the structure that the ringing sound of the telephone is simply replaced by the knocking sound and Ubiquitous Video requires the companion to turn the companion""s face to detect the visitor. Thus, the foregoing methods cannot easily be accepted.
The conventional services enable the state of the companion, intended to be communicated, to be previously detected with an image so that the communication is performed more easily. However, accidental communication cannot be simulated as if a person walking a passage accidentally comes on a companion and starts conversation because the person recalls a business, that is, the conventional method cannot simulate accidental communication with a companion with which the user has no intention of communication.
The conventional system CRUISER has provided a service for realizing accidental communication by creating a virtual passage composed of a route sequentially connecting plural departments and set by a user and xe2x80x9cautocruisexe2x80x9d with which a route is automatically generated by a computer at a random time. According to a report of the experiment, substantially no virtual passage was created by the user. The reason for this can be considered that meaningless setting of intermediate route cannot easily be performed because one room is the goal of walking on the passage. The operation for randomly setting the route by the computer resulted in the users feeling nuisance because the companion is absent or having a conversation when the image link has been connected and thus the conversation cannot be held. As a result, accidental communication cannot satisfactorily be simulated.
An object of the present invention is to provide a virtual proximity service control system enabling a user to start conversation with a remote companion as an adjacent person without disturbing the work of the companion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a virtual proximity service control system capable of realizing informal communication with which virtual proximity feeling can be obtained between remote persons.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a virtual proximity service control system capable of realizing unplanned communication between remote persons.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a virtual proximity service control system capable of defining a plurality of users as members of a group independently to the physical positions of the users.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a virtual proximity service control system capable of performing a TV conference by using an image input unit provided for an image server without an image input unit for the communication terminal for each user.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a virtual proximity service control system capable of efficiently performing communication by switching the quality of the image between a case where a user visits a companion and a case where a TV conference is held.
The virtual proximity service control system according to the present invention enables remote persons to perform communication by using a network to which a plurality of communication terminals provided for the users in an office are connected. Prior to starting conversation with the companion, information of the members in the department to which the companion belongs, other persons who are communicating the department and other departments relative to the department, and image information, voice information, communication state and terminal addresses of the members are acquired. Thus, communication can be performed while considering the state of the companion. Moreover, an opportunity to start communication with a person near the companion, that is, another member in the department or another person communicating the department, can be provided. Thus, informal and unplanned communication with which virtual proximate feeling can be obtained, can be performed between remote persons in an office. Moreover, only a simple structure is required to perform a TV conference among remote users.
The above and further objects and features of the invention will more fully be apparent from the following detailed description with accompanying drawings.